Great post. When I read these I always do a little research. Thanks!
The lavender in Reflection Man is gorgeous how it blends with jasmine and sharper rosemary. I'm not sure it's listed but it's def in there. Ha! It's not my fav note or smell, but I can get on board when it's done well.
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As far as perfumery materials and fragrance notes go, there are fewer that have more of a bad rap than lavender. Often disregarded (rather unfairly, if you ask me) as old fashioned, prim, and dandy-esque, lavender is rarely seen as modern, trendy or luxurious. Amongst a sea of ouds, sandalwoods, and savoury gourmands, lavender can’t help but be perceived as old hat.
But is it really passé? You see, lavender seems to be having a bit of a moment right now, especially in the luxury space. There are tons of niche and artisanal fragrance brands who are trying to reinvent lavender, promising consumers that “no, this is not what your granny used to wear” (although, in my opinion, all grandmas have excellent perfumery taste but that’s an article for another day) and that their take on lavender can make it the note du jour.
What makes lavender a fun material for brands to explore is the fact that it’s actually incredibly versatile, largely due to the fact that it is so multifaceted, with a range of olfactory nuances that each veer off in different directions. Lavender can lean cool and herbaceous, working well with mint notes (it is part of the mint family, after all), but it can also swing gourmand, with toasted sugar and liquorice facets. It can be green, it can be floral, it can be soft, but it can also be dry and arid. It is truly a wonderful material that is a versatile tool in the perfumer’s pallete. No wonder the luxe brands have got their noses all over it at the moment.
So, to assist you in levelling up your lavender game, here are six lavender fragrances that showcase the material in a luxury setting. This is lavender, yes, but not as you know it.
French grooming brand Horace has quickly proven itself to be an outfit that takes scent seriously. Their latest launch, a limited-edition collaboration with iconic menswear magazine l’etiquette, is a stylish, Gitane-smoking lavender in a YSL suit shooting get ready with me videos for his TikTok feed. It’s effortlessly cool, undeniably attractive, and strangely affordable for a luxury fragrance.
L'etiquette dusts lavender in cigarette ash and spritzes it with droplets of gin-like juniper. The lavender itself smells waxy and clean, evoking a bar of soap found in a handsome man’s bathroom, creating a fascinating contrast between musty (cigarette ash) and fresh (lavender soap). It’s a tension that works beautifully in a fragrance that I, for one, pray Horace makes a permanent addition to their collection.
Floris isn’t an obvious candidate for a thoroughly modern take on lavender given the fact that their esteemed heritage goes all the way back to 1730, but their latest launch, Purple Mémoire, is exactly that: a decidedly on-trend lavender. Celebrating the sugary side of the material, Purple Mémoire blends lavender with violet and bergamot to create a trail that is juicy, fruity, powdery, and sparkling. The result is a lavender in a delectably modern setting.
OK so, lavender through a gourmand lense isn’t a new idea and it’s something we’ve seen in quite a few high profile, mainstream fragrances (Guerlain’s deliciously smooth malted lavender and YSL’s honeyed orange blossom-lavender spring to mind) but Floris bring a levity and effervescence to the concept, weaving in fizzy fresh bergamot and warm, hay-like facets of tonka. Purple Mémoire is effervescent, fruity, powdery and comforting.
Each of Nissaba’s fragrances celebrate the materials grown in a particular locality. For Provence in France, those ingredients are lavender, lavandin, clary sage, coriander, and hyssop. Perfumer (Kayali , Replica ) expertly blends these fruits of the Provence soil into a contemporary fougère that is cool, herbal, and genderless.
Provence is also an excellent example of lavender as a supporting act. In many of the other luxury lavenders in this list, the material is very much the star, but in Provence it is used to draw out interesting facets from the other materials. The result is a crisp, cool, herbaceous scent with a subtle sense of dryness that perfectly evokes the rich, fragrant terra of Southeastern France.
Nothing quite says luxury like ‘CHANEL’ and the brand’s Les Exclusifs collection is where they really show off their fragrant talents, exploring high quality materials in unique ways, whilst still staying true to the olfactory codes of the house. Jersey is no exception to this and takes inspiration from the fabric made famous by Coco Chanel in the 1920s, presenting the idea in an unusual way: through lavender.
Jersey is a blend of lavender, musk, and vanilla. It is surprisingly fruity, with a tart, jammy berry accord up top, followed by smooth lavender that feels as if all of the rough edges have been shaved off. It has a little of that malted, toasted sugar vibe that lavender often has, but as with all things CHANEL it feels entirely abstract. This, perhaps, is the idea of lavender painted by an impressionist, rather than the real thing.
Le Labo is an intriguing outfit and I’ve often found that the ingredients that take top billing in the names of their fragrances are often red herrings. , for example, is much more of an incense than a vetiver, and is definitely not a patchouli and most certainly a guiacwood. But in the case of Lavande 31, the name is spot on. It is 100% a lavender, but not how one expects it to be.
Lavande 31 pairs lavender with lots of lightweight, shimmery notes (bergamot and neroli) but also warm comforting notes of tonka bean and musk. All together it smells like lavender scented linen, with just a tiny hint of something unclean lurking beneath. This is a luxury lavender fragrance for people who think they hate lavender. It’s so subtle, they might not think it’s lavender at all.
What happens when you mix sticky pineapple, rich, syrupy lavender, and tons of patchouli together? The answer is the most gloriously raucous and fun lavender on the planet, aka Music for a While by Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle.
Music for a While is very out of character for Malle, who have often created very serious, high art perfumes that present modern riffs on classic themes. With its almost fruity-bubble-gum take on lavender, Music for a While feels entirely unserious. Despite this, there is actually a lot of serious perfumery going on here (courtesy of perfumer ), especially in the sharp, humidity-cutting way in which the patchouli slices through all of that fruit juice. It’s a huge amount of fun in a small bottle and goes to show that when needed, the brand can let its hair down, even if it is just for a brief moment. Yes, lavender can be luxury, but it can be fun too.
Fragrance Expert, Copywriter, Trainer, Speaker, Podcast/Event Host, known as Making Scents Make Sense on social media and on perfumetok.
thomasdunckley
Libre
Sébastien Cresp
Yum Pistachio Gelato | 33
Carlos Benaim
Mon Guerlain
Vetiver 46
From the Garden
Patchouli 24
